Secure Password Applications and 2 Factor Authentication (2FA)

Secure
Password Applications and 2 Factor Authentication (2FA)

Remembering
passwords which some important applications enforce to be changed at least
every three months can be a nuisance, sometimes resulting in people using
‘abcd1234’ for everything online. Creating and recalling effectively strong
passwords for every website you visit can be a daunting task.

Password
managers are great tools since they don’t only eliminate the task of
remembering your access details, but also usually type them in too.

This
article will explore 4 secure password applications, many with useful extra
features available with the premium versions of the password managers.

1. LastPass

Free, secure login storage and generation
– LastPass is renowned as the best password manager available.

Two
versions of LastPass
exist: Free and Premium available on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android operating
systems. Both versions come with unlimited storage for any number of account
logins in a secure vault, protected by a master password. Online forms will
complete automatically and can even employ multi-factor authentication.

Premium
edition offers extra features such as storing passwords for desktop programs,
syncing across multiple devices, sharing secured folders with other contacts
and generation of complex passwords which are then stored for you.

Make your life easier with a Top Rated password
manager that offers free mobile apps.

Available
for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems, RoboForm is a great application
for people looking for simple and secure password synchronization between
laptops, desktops and mobile devices.

The
free version only lets you store up to 10 logins and lacks some of the useful extra
features offered by other programs. Should you need to store more passwords,
the premium version can be purchased for $19.95 a year.

Based on a variety of
technologies, Two-Factor authentication (2FA) most prominently employs one time
passwords (OTPs) and Public Key infrastructure to protect your identity and
data with a strong authentication process.

One time passwords are simply
a form of symmetric token match between two servers, generated at the same time.
If the tokens are different, access to a user program or web application is
denied. Public key authentication on the other hand, uses an asymmetric pair of
private and public encryption keys to grant users access to their web
applications.

An overview of 3 well-known
applications you can use to secure important web applications will be discussed
in the section below. Popular web applications such as PayPal, eBay, Google, Amazon,
WordPress among others offer 2FA which can be activated in their advanced
security settings menu.

Google
Authenticator really stands out with a feature that doesn’t require internet
access or cellular connectivity to authenticate a user, essentially in airplane
mode. The application holds multiple accounts in one place using the same
mobile number to receive your 2FA code.

It has a simple application interface
which works with older versions of Android operating system. Installation file
is only 2MB in size, so it works easily on all devices.

This application enables users
to secure their transactions and logins by self-enrolling and authenticating
with their smart phones.

Duo Push saves you time from
copying numbers with an out-of-band authentication process that prevents remote
hackers from stealing your password. The app sends an authorization request
directly to the application running on your smartphone, with two push notifications
to Approve or Deny authentication.

Duo 2FA can integrate into
websites, Cloud Services and VPNs available on iPhones, Androids, Windows,
Blackberries and personal computers. Platform Edition of the software offers
advanced analytics with Endpoint security that can flag any out-of-date device
software posing a possible security risk.

Authy
takes the crown for the best 2FA application for desktops with Linux, Mac,
Windows, Android and even Apple watch supported.

Security
codes generated by the application can be sent directly as a token to the
desktop without the need for a smartphone. Your accounts can be synced and
backed up to the Cloud, saving you time from manually adding them to each
device and browser.

In the
event your phone gets stolen, you have the ability to remove the lost phone
from the devices’ list directly from the desktop application. This feature
stops any unauthorized user of the smartphone from gaining access to any of
your accounts.

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